South African – President Cyril Ramaphosa has reacted to South Africa’s inclusion on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list for non-compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.
Ramaphosa said the news raised many concerns about the state of the country’s financial institutions and the investment environment.
For this reason, Ramaphosa reassured in his weekly newsletter that the government is determined to get out of this situation as quickly as possible, specifying that the country has the necessary means to fight against these crimes.
The president pointed out that the FATF assessment conducted in 2019 revealed several shortcomings in the country’s jurisdiction and institutions, as it had just emerged from the era of ‘State Capture’, which hurt institutions such as the State Audit Service (SARS).
For its part, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has called on the government to swiftly implement the National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Strategy, which was adopted last November, to get off the grey list.